


She Walks Where Angels Fly

by wellthizizdeprezzing



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: Drama, F/F, Romance, angel au, edward is an asshole but what else is new, some fighting later on, some mystery aspects
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-25 01:41:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30081546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wellthizizdeprezzing/pseuds/wellthizizdeprezzing
Summary: A beautiful stranger changes Bella's life in all the best (and worst) ways.Originally published in 2020, crossposted here
Relationships: Rosalie Hale/Bella Swan
Comments: 5
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I published this last year, but it's still an ongoing series.   
> I'm going to update three chapters every Wednesday until I catch up to the current chapter count.   
> Hope y'all enjoy, it's something a bit different.

The ocean had been violently upended and was now spewing the contents of it's vulgar depths onto the feeble land and it's occupants. The streets were flooded, the land turned soupy as debris and mud pooled forth from the woods, carrying forth branches and small trees that could not weather mother nature's sorrows. Not a single ray of light came forth from the sky, the clouds ominously crowding over Forks, Washington, like they were trying to threaten people into submission. And they had all but won. The townsfolk were used to rain but not this much. Forks wasn't Florida and it most certainly wasn't Arizona, Bella griped internally as she emptied the full plastic bucket outside her window before pushing it back under the dripping spot on her ceiling. Several other bowls and buckets she had placed strategically around the house needed similar emptying.

While it poured outside, the rattle of rain on battered foliage and roads, inside only the steady plop of water in containers and the hum of the rain outside could be heard, Charlie's TV set on low so his game wouldn't disturb Bella's efforts to do work. Not that she could get much homework done. She was distracted by the terrible weather.

It was not only wet, but chilly, and the house had no heat, the heater gone out weeks ago, it's last dying breath just helping them make it through February and leaving the house's occupants fending for themselves for the remaining frigid months.

Sighing, she closed her book and huddled the blanket around her shoulders better. It was ratty and smelled unclean. But she had dug it out of the back of her closet because fresh linens were running out too. The washing machine and dryer were asthmatic at best, spitting out clothing like phlegm from within their depths, refusing to engage with them, and Charlie hadn't been able to get a repairman in this weather for a good week.

Bella went downstairs, hoping a snack might refresh her mind and make her body generate some sort of heat to keep her warm.

Charlie was sitting in the dim glow of the living room. All but one light bulb had burned out, casting the already sad room into an even sadder state. The couch had stuffing falling out, and Charlie's favorite armchair no longer reclined, the mechanism broken. He held a can of lukewarm beer in his hand, squinting and trying to make the football game out through the static of the TV. He'd never bothered to upgrade to cable and though he complained about the quality of the broadcast all the time, he didn't change the service.

"How's it going, Bells?" he asked with only half his attention. He wasn't bothered by the cold, wearing a flannel over his Forks PD shirt and a pair of loose sweats. His gray socks had holes in them through which one of his toes was sticking free.

"If this weather goes on any longer, I'll turn into a fish," she mumbled sarcastically as she trudged to the kitchen, opening the fridge. Old Chinese take out stared back at her and she scowled. Even if she wanted to make dinner later, she'd have to drive to the store and buy some ingredients. She might as well go now, given she couldn't focus on any of her work.

"April showers bring May flowers," he tells her, taking a loud slurp of his beer.

She closed the fridge door. "At this rate, they'll be no land left for flowers to grow in."

He grunts to that and she leaves him to his game, dropping her blanket off in favor of reaching for a jacket and replacing the two on the coat hanger in the hallway. She jingles her keys, so he knows she's leaving.

"Where you going, Bells?"

"Shopping."

"Need some cash?"

"I'm fine." She has about thirty dollars in her pocket; she always keeps money there just in case of anything.

"Alright, be careful out there. The roads are slippery."

He doesn't need to tell her twice. She leaves the house, staring in dismay at the rain. Somewhere off in the distance, thunder rumbles. She didn't bother to bring an umbrella. It's as useful as bringing a feather to a gun fight. She flips the hood of her jacket on and rushes out to her truck. By the time she gets in, she's soaked and shivering. She starts the car up, blasting the heat.

She's happy the truck is working. It's not exactly brand new or even second hand. Her father had bought it off of a family friend and then Jake had come over and tuned it up a bit for her. Still, despite all that, it broke down on a frequent basis and caused her to be late more often than not to school. This time, it had turned on smoothly and she's grateful; she was worried the rain might have ruined the engine.

Carefully, she pulls the car out of the driveway and drives down the road, to the local grocery store. It's only two in the afternoon on a Sunday, but she has to turn the headlights on. She can't see a thing in the dark.

She parks the car in the lot, not surprised to see it empty save for the employees cars. Nobody wants to be out in this weather, vehicle or not. She rushes out, her coat which had partially dried on the twenty minute ride over, becoming soaked again. She tracks water into the store, earning the scowl of Mike, whose face lights back up when he sees it's her.

"Bella, how was your swim?" he jokes as she drips on the linoleum floor.

"Ah, you know. Did ten yards in a min," she responds, knowing none of what she said made any sense. "But, sorry about the mess," she gives a small apologetic smile, looking at the puddle forming under her rain boots.

"Don't worry," Mike waves his hand and finishes restocking the last pack of gum at the register shelf. "Store's been empty nearly all day. Not much to do."

"Just you and your dad?"

"Yea," he confirms, crossing his arms over his chest. Mike's a good friend of Bella's, mainly because Charlie's friends with Mike's father and they go fishing on the weekends. Mike and Bella knew each other from a young age before Bella moved away from Forks during her formative middle school years only to come back to finish high school here and live with her father while her mother remarried and started her new life with her new man.

She can't say she's too happy about this, but seeing how her father lives and takes care of himself, she's glad she's back. How has he survived by himself with TV dinners and beer only to fill his soul where his family should be? Bella had to take care of him; it was the least she owed him for raising her when her mother and he were still together.

"I won't take long then," Bella says and Mike leaves his station to accompany her on his way down the aisle to get the mop.

"How's the house holding up in this weather?" Mike asks, knowing the sad state of Bella's house.

"It's...holding," she admitted with a shrug as she perused the aisles in idle interest of what she should get. "Got more holes than not, but we're just hoping it holds until we can get it fixed."

"It's crazy; we've never had rainstorms this bad since my parents were kids."

"Might be global warming," Bella says off handily, pulling a box of pasta off the shelf. She frowns and puts it back. She's made pasta the last two nights in a row. She doesn't want anymore of it.

Mike imparts one last thing. "Ya know, my mother always said when the weather's this bad, it's because Heaven is weeping."

Bella scoffs at that but doesn't reply.

* * *

Bella comes back from the grocery store, thirty dollars lighter and three bags heavier. She rings the doorbell so Charlie can get up from his chair and help her bring them in, even if she has the keys to open the door. He takes the wet plastic from her, careful to minimize the drip on his way to settling them down in the kitchen. Bella sheds her coat and rain boots and sets about putting the groceries away while Charlie returns back to the game, a fresh can of beer in his hand.

Bella puts the groceries away, only leaving the ones she needs right now. Within half an hour the house smells great instead of dank and yeasty. Bella plates the cooked chicken and peppers with a side of ready made mashed potatoes and they sit down to eat.

"How's school going?" Charlie asks as he gulps down the food hastily.

"Fine."

"Adjusting well? I hope none of the kids are giving you any trouble." There is a hint of protectiveness in his voice.

"I'm fine, promise," she sighs not up for this discussion. It's been hard coming in the middle of the school year, in her second to last year and having to adjust. But she's doing her best. She's caught up in her classes and she's made one or two friends not from her childhood that she can talk to.

Discussion sort of fizzles out there since they aren't quite sure what to talk about. Bella doesn't mind the quiet. It's better than always having to fill a silence like she had to with her mother. Bella wasn't the talkative type. She enjoyed slow moments of peace.

With dinner finished, she let her father clean up the dishes and she went upstairs to empty out the full buckets out the window before attempting to do her work again. As she's doing it, she feels something wet and cool slide down her hair. She looks up with a weary sigh and sees the telltale sighs of another leak. She blinks as it plops down cool on her face. Another weary sigh leaves her lips as she gets up to find another bowl to contain the mess.

She takes to doing her work on her bed, spreading her books out around her, scribbling down on paper her notes. This isn't a bright idea as the comfort of her comforter makes her eyes heavy. She shakes her head and tries to remain focused but eventually her head droops too many times and she falls asleep on top of her chemistry book.

She's awoken what only feels like moments later by a loud boom. A loud boom that sounds very close by. Her head jerks up, the page sticking to her cheek, and she pats it off. She looks wildly around herself, finding it's much darker than before. Her clock tells her it's one at night and she groans out, dismayed. She'd slept and hadn't finished her work before school.

She crawls off of her bed and is surprised when Charlie opens the door to her room, standing in his shorts and loose shirt. His hair is mused up. "Bella, did you hear that?" he asks, hands on hips. She notices his gun holster is there. He must fear danger.

"Um yea. You know what it was?" she asks, her slow heart rate picking up.

He shakes his head. "I don't know. I'm going to check it out." He goes downstairs and she goes after him, careful to be silent. The downstairs is even darker, and the drip drip of water into buckets accompanies them. They get to the door that leads to the back porch and both stop collectively.

From deep in the woods, they can see something bright glowing. It's not fire; it has an artificial quality to it. But they don't know who would be out in the woods this late at night. "I'm going to go check it out. There shouldn't be anyone on our property this late at night."

"I'm coming with," Bella says because she's curious.

"Bella, what if it's dangerous," Charlie tells her, furrowing his brows in worry over her.

"Then shouldn't I be with you to make sure nothing sneaks up on you?" she asks and he shakes his head. "I'm a cop, Bella. I have training. You don't."

She relents and he goes upstairs to change into his uniform and get his flashlight. She keeps looking out into the light. It seems to be pulsating right now. Almost like it's humming. She strains her ears but she can't be sure she's not making up the sound of it. Her hands trails on the screen door and she feels an urge to run outside and to it. The longer she stares, the stronger the urge gets. Her other hand is on the knob but before she can turn it, her father is back. She jumps as his words pulls her out of her stupor.

He's wearing his police windbreaker on top and he's all businesslike. Charlie must think this is serious if he's dressed up. "Stay here. I'll call if anything. But don't follow me," he instructs strictly.

She nods her head in understanding and moves aside so he can leave. His feet squelch as soon as they hit the mud and then he's gone, the dark of the woods swallowing him up in but ten strides.

She stays there and waits, noticing the light grows dimmer and dimmer in time. She wonders what's there, and if whoever was there is running away because they know Charlie is coming.

Bella worries over him but she also trusts him to be alright. He's a good cop.

She shivers a bit from the cold coming in through the screen door but sits there and stays put, listening intently and watching the moving foliage, thinking each blow of wind rustling it might be her father coming back. The rain falls steadily the whole time.

It's not until half an hour has passed that Bella begins to worry and thinks of calling her father to ask if he's okay. Just as she pulls out her phone, heavy crunching stops her.

She can see her father's figure stumbling through the trees. He's hunched over and he's carrying something. But what? Bella turns on the porch lights as her father starts yelling at her. "Bella, quick, call an ambulance." As he steps closer to the light, covered in mud and drenched, Bella spots the reason for his urgency.

In his arms, he's carrying a woman.


	2. Chapter 2

The hospital is abuzz. This is the most action they've seen since the some bikers came into town and one of them busted his ass literally when he tried to show off on his bike, back in the 80s. Bella sits on the plastic seat and ignores the overwhelming stench of antiseptic and mud. Her father is sitting next to her, partially dried and the mud forming unappealing crusts on his shoes and pants legs, and on the front of his jacket where he held the woman to him.

It blocks out the word police and like this, under the strong florescent, he looks more tired dad than cop.

The nurses won't let the two of them in until the woman is stabilized. It's been three hours now. Three hours waiting here, Bella biting her bottom lip, drinking hospital cafeteria coffee and trying not to gag on it. Charlie's told her all he knows about the situation and now they wait.

"You should really be home, Bells," he tells her, stroking his mustache. He's got bags under his eyes but they're full of energy. His body may be tired but he's curious on what's happening. On who this woman is.

"I have class in an hour anyways. I'll sleep when I come home from school," she intones, curious too and needing to be here.

When she closes her tired eyes she can still see the images from earlier this morning. Her father stumbled into the house and Bella opened the screen door for him, as he set the woman down. She's naked but covered in mud, sticks and leaves in her hair. And she's bleeding. They don't know from where but she is.

"Bella, call the ambulance!" he instructs once more and she pulls out her phone as he goes to get the woman a blanket. She must be cold. Whatever happened to her, has her unconscious, her head lolling to the side.

"What's your emergency?" the operator on the other end asks and Bella stumbles over her words, not quite sure how to describe this situation. "Um, my dad and I, we found a girl in the woods. She looks hurt. She's unresponsive. We need an ambulance."

"What is your address?" asked the operator and Bella quickly told her. Charlie is back with Bella's old blanket, the one from upstairs. It was the only one he could find. He wraps the woman in it, and takes her wrist to measure her pulse.

"She's alive, but it's slow," he tells Bella and she swallows in uncertainty. Charlie lifts the woman up and Bella ends the call after the operator tells her they're on the way. Charlie takes her to the front of the house so they can wait for the ambulance there. Bella snags her jacket off the coat hanger and waits with him. The minutes stretch by and yet they go by so quickly. They hear the sirens first and open the door, stepping out. Two paramedics come with stretchers and take the woman out of Charlie's hands and put her on them. There's a flurry of motion as they get her into the ambulance. "Get her an IV," shouts one.

"Her pulse and oxygen levels need to be checked," says the other.

"I'm coming with her," Charlie says, "This could a missing persons case." He flashes his badge at them.

"I'm coming too," Bella announces and Charlie doesn't argue with her on this, finding that there's too much chaos and too little time to debate Bella's tagging along.

And that's how they make it to the hospital. They haven't had word on anything ever since the mysterious woman got here, but they are too curious to go home and wait there, until hours have passed. The doctors have some questions for Charlie and he answers them standing by the seats, not too far from Bella that she cannot hear. There's no point in keeping this secret from her. Charlie already told her what he'd seen.

"Where did you find her?"

"In my backyard, some ways in the woods."

"When did you come across her?"

"During the night. I think it was like one in the morning," he filled in. "I was only out because I heard a loud noise and it startled me and Bella awake. I went to check it out. There was some weird glowing light coming from where this woman was. By the time I got to her it had gone out and all I saw was her, lying in some deep crater."

"That is odd," the doctor says as he scribbles down his notes. "Do you recognize her?"

"It's hard to tell with the mud covering her."

"She's all cleaned up now. Would you like to see her?"

"Yes," Charlie nods his head, hands on his hips. "I'd also like to bring my daughter in. She might help with the identifying."

The doctor hesitates before nodding his head. "Of course."

Bella gets up and follows her father down the hall when he jerks his head at her, indicating she should come. They get to the room. The mysterious woman is the only one in it and the two nurses who were just finishing up her IV drip are leaving to allow them access.

They stand at the end of the bed and look her over. She looks more human now. Nothing like the thing they had rescued last night. She had been so muddy it was hard to tell what was under it all. But now, cleaned up, they can finally see her for what she is.

"I don't recognize her, do you Bella?" Charlie asks, glancing the mysterious woman over.

She's beautiful, is Bella's first thought, when she sees the woman spread on the bed in front of her. Her skin is a golden warm hue and her hair is pale blonde, curled in long locks that spread like a halo around her head. Her nose is strong, her lips full, and her brows perfectly structured. Her facial features make her look like an angel, especially given the gentle and peaceful look on her face as she sleeps. Bella watches her chest rise and fall longer than she should, wondering what color her eyes could be.

It takes a second for Bella to register the words spoken to her, they sound like they're coming under water. "Um, no," she shakes her head, takes her eyes away from the woman. "I don't know her."

Bella and Charlie are shuffled from the room, her father hanging his hands off of his belt loop. "Well, it seems I won't be able to do anything until she wakes up. Wanna grab some hot chocolate on the way home?" he asks Bella who nods her head yes. She's quiet now, but only because she's so deep in thought. She can't shake the sight of the beautiful mysterious woman out of her head. She's so beautiful it almost hurts to look at her.

Bella's so deep in thought that she only really is drawn out when they're in the car and Charlie's driving to the old diner that sells hot chocolate and he comments, "oh, finally. It stopped raining."

And Bella looks up and sees that the first rays of light are breaking free from the clouds, shining down on the wet world around them, for once the sky not trying to drown them.

* * *

Bella goes to school, feet dragging and eyes prickling with tiredness.

"You look like a vampire," Mike comments, throwing an arm around her shoulders as they walk down the hall to their shared class. She knows she looks bad, she has bags under her eyes and her hair is messed up because she wasn't able to brush it since she woke up in the morning before this whole crazy adventure.

She stifles a yawn before answering. "Just couldn't fall asleep," she says, not wanting to tell anyone about the stranger they found last night. This is a small town and word gets around quickly. Besides, a part of her oddly doesn't want anyone knowing about the woman. She doesn't know why this is, maybe it's because she wants to protect her identity? Give her some privacy from the snooping of small town folks. Besides, she seems to have been through so much, why not give her a small break?

School slides on by, and Bella goes from class to class, just trying to stay awake. She couldn't be happier when the bell rings. She springs out of her seat, intent on her getting home so she can do her work quickly and then go to bed early. She says goodbye to her friends before she clambers into her old truck. With a roar she is pulling out of the parking lot, blinking her eyes rapidly so she doesn't fall asleep behind the wheel.

Bella gets home about twenty minutes later, parking her truck and taking out her bag as she enters the house, stifling yet another yawn. Opening the door and throwing her bag onto the couch as she normally does, she can smell food. The house is filled with the scent of a fresh meal. Is Charlie cooking? That's odd. But when she comes into the kitchen, she sees Charlie isn't there.

But the mysterious woman is.

She's at the stove, making grilled chicken and wearing Bella's flannel and loose sweatpants that are both a bit small on her given the way the pants stop at above her ankle and the shirt sleeves stop before her wrists. Her hair is down and loose, ends curling up a bit, trailing down to nearly the small of her back. Bella gasps at the sight of her. Hadn't she just been in the hospital?

Her head jerks at the sound of Bella's gasp and she smiles. It's like the room lights up when she does and Bella screams because she's overwhelmed by this woman's sudden presence.

Charlie is down the stairs in second's, lumbering down them at break neck speeds. "Bella what's wrong?!"

She clamps a hand over her mouth, unsure why she even screamed. Was it because she was so shocked to see someone here that wasn't supposed to and her body had a delayed reaction? "Uh, nothing," she pulls the hand from her mouth, her father looking between her and the woman in the kitchen, alert and ready to protect Bella. "I was just surprised." The woman in the kitchen stares blankly in shock at being screamed at, but doesn't comment.

"I forgot to text you," Charlie says, exhaling in relief that nothing had happened and placed his hands on his hips, affecting a strong stance. "I had a lot of paperwork to fill out and it slipped my mind. But, she's going to stay here with us."

Bella's brow furrows. Is she dreaming? Hallucinating from lack of sleep? "Why?"

"Well, the hospital said she was fine. Released her on the all clean bill, and because we don't know who she is, or where she's from, she doesn't have anywhere else to go. So, I offered her if she'd like to stay at our house for the time being while her memories return to her. This way I can keep a closer eye on her and solve her case."

Charlie said it like it made sense, but Bella wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to have a stranger staying in their house. Their ramshackle house. What if she was dangerous? But as the woman smiled softly at her, not hurt by Bella's earlier scream, Bella could feel all her qualms fall away. There was something just so disarming about that smile. It made Bella feel soothed.

"Uh, hi," Bella held out her hand in greeting, deciding she should remedy her rude greeting of the way before when she screamed her head off. "I'm Bella Swan."

The woman shook Bella's hand. Her fingers were so soft, and warm. She didn't say anything back.

"The doctor's said she lost use of her vocal cords. They're not damaged or anything but they think whatever trauma happened to her, caused her to lose access to using them. Frightened her from speaking," Charlie explained as the woman let go of Bella's hand. Bella curled her fingers around her palm where it tingled from the woman's touch.

"Oh, okay," Bella said because she didn't know what else to say.

There came a ding from the oven and the woman rushed over to it, getting something out of the oven. Bella turned to her father who understood the look in her eyes. He jerked his head over to indicate they should talk about this in the foyer. Bella followed his heavy footsteps there.

"Dad, are you sure this is okay?" Bella whispered, mindful to keep her voice low even if they were out of ear shot.

"Bells...I felt bad for her. She's a young woman, lost and with no idea who she is. What if she was someone's daughter, and I didn't do anything to help her?" Charlie shook his head, clearly thinking of what if Bella had been in a position like that. Charlie always had been a compassionate man, thinking more with his heart sometimes than his head. "I couldn't do that, I couldn't leave her there, or let her be sent off to some shady motel room." They both peered down the hall to see her moving around and setting the table as she plated the food, looking so pleased with the menial task she was doing.

"How long do you think she'll be here?" Bella asked. The woman looked so out of place among their drab and shoddy house. She was too bright. Too clean.

"I'm not sure. But I already told her if she wants to stay here, she needs to earn her keep. She'll be helping us around the house by cooking or cleaning. Should make things easier for you, Bella."

"What about the hospital bills?" Bella knew those couldn't be cheap.

"The police department agreed to pay for it, on the conditions that once she gained her memories back from whatever trauma took them, she would pay us back."

"What if she doesn't regain them?" Bella voiced hesitantly. That would be a horrible thing. Bella couldn't imagine it happening, couldn't imagine forgetting Charlie.

Charlie sighed, smoothing a hand down over his mustache. "We'll look for her next of kin. Or someone who knows her." He gave another sigh. "I also hope you don't mind me giving her your old clothes. She didn't exactly have anything to wear."

"It's fine. I can take her shopping later if she needs some more."

"Thank you, Bells," Charlie put a hand on her shoulder. Then they both went to join their new house-guest for a dinner she made.


	3. Chapter 3

Dinner was amazing. Maybe their new house guest had been a cook in her life, because wow. Simply, wow. She could make a simple pasta and chicken roast taste like ambrosia. Bella wondered how this was even possible and she wished that the woman could show her how so she could recreate the effects. Their satisfied groans and moans filled the air as the woman watched, happy, that they enjoyed her food.

When dinner was cleared, they had eaten to capacity. She got up and cleared the dishes as Charlie unbuttoned his pants button to make space for all he had eaten. Both of them could use a nice nap or some lazing around to digest this food, but Charlie had a pad and pen with him, going to take down some notes.

He was going to interview the woman about whatever she remembered of her past, hoping that he would get something from her he had been unable to get out before. "I know we went over this at the station and the hospital, but have you remembered anything? Anything new since then?"

The woman looked sad to shake her head no and Charlie sighed, tapping his pen on the pad. "Do you know if anyone could have done this to you?"

The woman gave a helpless shrug.

Charlie frowned, stroking his mustache. "Well, let's hope something turns up. I'll keep combing through the databases for any missing reports of you, okay?"

The woman nodded her head, seeming to mouth thank you. Charlie got up, sleepy from overeating. "Bella will help you set up the couch. I'm afraid we don't have a guest room."

The woman did not seem to put out by this, instead, getting up and following after Bella where Bella kept spare linens in the closet.

* * *

That was yesterday. Bella woke up the next morning, for the first couple of minutes having forgotten entirely that there was a stranger in her house, and then she smelled the heavenly scent of bacon and her mind began computing the fact that Bella was in bed, so she hadn't cooked it. Neither could Charlie cook, which only meant that someone else had.

Bella lumbered down the stairs, still half awake, and raking a hand through messy brown hair that she hadn't bothered to brush yet. Charlie was at the table, chomping down on bacon, eggs, and toast, a mug of coffee wafting steam into the air.

"Good morning Bells," Charlie greeted. "Help yourself to some food. I've got to go to work today thanks to Blecher forgetting to file his forms right." It was a Saturday which normally was an off day for Charlie. Forks was a small town so there normally wasn't much need for overtime but to be fair they could use the extra money to finally get some repairs around here.

Bella takes the ready plate on her table and piles on the stacks of bacon, eggs and toast. The woman emerges from the kitchen with a cup of coffee for Bella. "Oh, thanks but I don't drink."

The woman made an expression of enlightenment and kept the cup for herself, sitting there and just drinking it while Bella and her father enjoyed breakfast. "Did you eat already?" Bella asked because she would feel bad if they woman hadn't. A quick nod confirmed the woman had ate already so Bella was able to enjoy her meal.

Once breakfast was over, Charlie was out the door, grabbing his belt and on his way. Bella helped clear the dishes while the woman helped dry them. She looked eager to help and when Bella was done with the dishes, and had moved on to empty the buckets for it had finally stopped heavily pouring and was only drizzling lightly, the woman followed her example and began to move the buckets too.

Bella was curious about her. Did the woman even remember her own name? Charlie had said she didn't, but Bella felt wrong not calling the woman by any name at all. "What can I call you?" Bella asked as she drained the buckets that had been around the house to catch the rain. Since it was no longer raining an ocean, they no longer needed them. The woman helped her, heaving up two full buckets like they weighed nothing while Bella struggled with the one, bracing it against her hip to get some more leverage.

She didn't expect an answer as she opened up the window and tipped the contents of the bucket up. She turned around and saw the woman chewing on the inside of her cheek contemplatively. She opened her mouth and made motions with her lips. She was saying a name. Bella squinted and tried to lip read.

"Hope?" Bella questioned, after staring like an idiot at her mouth. To be fair, the woman had a pleasant looking mouth, with full lips colored red, almost as if they were painted. It was distracting.

Hope nodded her head.

"That's a nice name," Bella said because she didn't know what else to. She opened up the window and lifted the bucket up with both hands, before tipping it against the windowsill and pouring it out into the soggy dirty. Everything was wet and damp and it stank of old house. Bella really wished Charlie had the money to fix this place up. It was depressing. Bella finished emptying the bucket and stepped out of the way so Hope could empty hers. She did so easily and then they set the buckets in under the kitchen sink, for they were of no use now.

"Thanks, Hope," Bella said and Hope smiled because that was all she could do. Her smile was brilliant, making the apples of her cheek stand out and eyes sparkle. She was beautiful, Bella thought not for the last time as she looked away and cleared her throat. Who could ever want to harm such a woman?

"You wanna watch TV?" Bella asked because she didn't know what Hope liked to do for fun. It wasn't like Bella could offer much in the way of it.

Hope thought this over and then nodded her head. She followed Bella to the couch, where Bella dug the remote from between the flat cushions and then flicked on the TV. It was staticky and Bella cleared her throat, embarrassed by the state of her house.

"Sorry, we don't have much," Bella shrugged to convey her helplessness in the matter, but stopped to look at Hope's face when the blonde touched her shoulder in understanding. The touch made Bella tingle again and her throat dry. What the heck was going on with her body's reactions? She hadn't felt this way ever since her bad break up with Tyler. Who was a big asshole about it by the way.

Hope sat down on the couch, patting the cushion next to her to invite Bella to watch. Bella shook her head no. "I have homework."

Hope patted the cushion a bit more, smiling as she did so. There was just something about her smile that made Bella feel extremely unsure of herself. Flustered, even. "Maybe next time," she mumbled and nearly ran out the room, going up the stairs two at a time and closing the door behind her, heart thumping in her chest.

She shook her head, trying to get her thoughts together. Then, she pulled out her desk chair and began her school work. She found she could only get halfway before she got distracted once more by thoughts of the stranger downstairs. As she thought about her, about Hope's unfortunate circumstances, she heard a large clatter. Worried that Hope might have hurt herself on this ramshackled house, she went downstairs, calling out for her. "Hope?"

When she got down, she found Hope with a screwdriver in one hand and working on the TV. It seemed she had just finished because she closed the compartment in the back of the device and then pushed it into it's normal spot. Then, she turned it on. Bella's eyes opened wide. The broadcast was clear. Almost HD.

How had Hope done that?

"Wow, you're really good. How did you fix it?" Bella marveled as Hope smiled once more. She wiggled her fingers, as if flexing their magical ability on Bella.

"Did you repair stuff in your past life? Were you a repairwoman?" Bella questioned, thinking maybe this could be a big clue. Hope tapped her chin with a finger, looking up in thought. Then she shook her head no.

Hm, seemed like another dead end.

"Well, that's fine. Maybe your memories will come back to you eventually. I'll come downstairs to help with dinner. You have to show me how you make your dishes, they are exquisite!" Even such a simple breakfast had been amazing.

Hope nodded her head in agreement, and then Bella went back up to finish her work. It was seven by the time she went down. Charlie had texted he might be running a bit late because of a complicated case at the department and for Bella not to wait up on dinner. So, she entered the living room where Hope was on the couch, watching the pristine TV and braiding her long blonde hair.

She jumped up in excitement when she saw Bella was down. She hurriedly finished the braid and then urged Bella to come to the kitchen. Inside Bella saw that Hope had laid out the ingredients needed for dinner. It looked that they would be making fish.

Hope rolled up the sleeves of Bella's borrowed flannel and washed her hands in the sink, before she dried them on a dish towel and began the process of cutting some veggies. Bella didn't know what to do, so she stood by the counter, watching the way Hope cut the greens expertly. Her movements were so smooth and confident. Bella wished she was that confident. She was so absorbed in the rhythmic chopping of the knife on the board that she didn't notice when Hope indicated for Bella to mix seasoning and oil together in the bowl to make a nice batter. Bella rolled up her own sleeves and watched Hope dump the correct measurement of ingredients inside before she gave Bella the spoon to start stirring and walked away to start heating the pan.

The batter didn't look all that appealing but it smelled great which meant it would taste great. As she mixed quickly, it began to froth a bit. Clearly, she was doing something wrong. Hope's hand grasped Bella's slowing down her mixing. Slower, she mouthed and Bella swallowed deeply, trying to focus on the mixture and not the way Hope standing behind her felt electrifying. She was acutely aware of how warm Hope's hand was on hers, how close her chest was to brushing Bella's back, and how nice her scent was. It was sweet but not overly so. Like a garden on a warm summer day with birds chirping overhead.

Then Hope's hand was gone, and satisfied with Bella's mixing she moved away to go back to frying the veggies that would be the base for the fish.

A frazzled Bella tries to concentrate on the cooking and not on Hope. When Charlie comes back home, dinner is ready and amazing as always. Now that Bella knows the recipe she wants to try it on her own. She and Charlie groan their way through their meals, thanking Hope profusely for the meal, before Charlie questions if Hope recalls anything.

The woman shakes her head no and Charlie doesn't press, going to watch the game before he tucks in for the night. Bella decides to go watch one of her favorite shows on her laptop before she has to go to sleep for school tomorrow. Hope stays downstairs and Bella tries to not think about what she's doing or if Bella should invite her to watch the show with her. But she refrains from doing so. Because there had been a weird moment in the kitchen and Bella feels her stomach twist up each time she thinks on it and she doesn't know what this is. So she doesn't want to push it.

* * *

Bella's sojourn into sleep is ruined when a loud crash wakes her up. She bolts up straight in bed, turning on her lamp. She knows she didn't imagine that, and the way Charlie's door creaks open lets her know he heard it too. The two of them meet in the hallway before going down the stairs, he walking in front of Bella in a protective manner. He gets to the landing first and fumbles with the switch on the wall, turning it on. He finds Hope having flipped the couch over and shaking by it, with her knees up to her chest.

"What happened?" he asks, eyes searching the room for an intruder.

Bella kneels by Hope, reaching out a hand to comfort her when the woman throws herself unexpectedly at Bella and hugs her. Her whole body is shaking and she's taking shuddering breaths that sound painful. Bella relaxes into the hug, rubbing Hope's back as she starts to calm down. Charlie is looking out the window to check the property, finding nothing there. Then he goes to check all the house locks.

Bella figures out what has bothered Hope before he does. "Was it nightmares?"

Hope nods her head, face buried in Bella's neck.

"Bad nightmares?"

Another nod accompanied by a whimper.

"Were they about your past life?"

Hope hesitates before she answers, and then she shrugs.

"Do you remember them?"

Hope shakes her head no.

"No one's been here," Charlie reports when he comes back in. "Thought it might be some punk who had it out for Hope coming here, but no, we're all good. Thankfully."

"She had a nightmare," Bella explains craning her head awkwardly because Hope is still clinging tightly to her.

"Oh. Was it that bad?" he asks, bushy brows rising up in question.

"Yea. I can stay with her until she calms down. You go to sleep dad."

"You have school tomorrow."

"It's fine. I get up later than you do."

He looks down at her before he looks up. "Alright then. But don't stay up too late." And then he's slowly going up the stairs as if he thinks he should be down with them. Once his bedroom door closes, Hope untangles from Bella, sniffling and rubbing at the spare tears coming from her eyes. They seems to shine, like gems, and Bella blinks her eyes, surely seeing things. Before she can check, the tears are gone and Hope is up, helping to righten the couch. Bella stands to offer her help but Hope is stronger than she looks because she flips it back up all by herself. Bella can't help but watch the biceps flex as she does so, the thin night top Bella let her borrow, showing off her skin.

"Um, are you okay now?" Bella asks and Hope nods her head, picking up the pillows and blankets she dropped.

"You know..." Bella clears her throat, "when I used to have bad nightmares, watching TV would help me go back to sleep. Would you like that? Some TV?"

Hope nodded her head. Bella got the remote and turned it on, making sure the volume was low. Hope had remade her bed and was laying down on it. "Would you like me to...stay with you?"

Hope shook her head no, blonde tresses falling into her face.

"Okay, I'll be upstairs if you need anything." The look of sheer horror on Hope's face before has stayed with Bella and she wonders, what terrible things had happened to her that made her react that way? Bella just hopes she'll be fine. Because she hates the thought of anything bad having happened to Hope even if she doesn't know her all that well.


	4. Chapter 4

Tuesday after school, Bella decides she's going to take Hope shopping for some clothes. None of Bella's entirely fit her, and it's not right to make her have to wear them. She should have her own clothing. She jingles her keys in announcement of this idea after dinner.

Charlie slaps a fifty into her palm. "Get her some nice things."

Poor Charlie has no idea how much it actually costs to outfit a girl, but she doesn't mention this. They'll be going to the thrift shop anyways because it's more affordable and it's got some nice stuff. Hope makes to protest this fact but Bella sternly shakes her head. "You need new clothes, it's not up for argument. What if you want to leave the house? You can't do that in my old sweats."

Hope gives a one shoulder shrug like she wouldn't mind but Bella is already pushing Hope out the front door and towards her truck. The ride over is quiet, other than the country music playing from the station. They get to the mall, Bella leading the way to the store she has in mind, Hope trailing behind her. It's not too packed, then again, it never is. Forks is small and more often than not the residents here choose to go to a different mall out of town to get their shopping needs done.

Despite the near emptiness, Bella still runs into a couple of kids from her school. Namely, Lauren, Jessica and Angela. Bella's not really a fan of the first two. She knows for sure that Jessica doesn't like her because Jessica has a crush on Mike that she's been trying to get him to notice but Mike never does. He barely even knows Jessica exists. Jessica had tried to rope Bella into her schemes but Bella wants no part of this at all.

She thinks it's extremely petty to do such a thing.

Even pettier to hurt the person who does not want to be involved at all.

Also, they're huge gossips.

Bella stifles an internal groan of displeasure when she sees them coming directly towards her. She wants to snag Hope by her elbow and duck into the nearby electronic store. But it's too late. They've been spotted.

"Hi Bella!" they chorus in that oddly synchronized manner.

"Whose this?" Lauren asks as they stop in front of Hope. Hope seems to wilt a bit under her cutting look, taking in Hope's too small outfit, her clearly second hand clothes. Bella steps in front of Hope, protective. She's not going to let someone like Lauren belittle Hope who has been through too much to deserve this as she recuperates. Hope raises a brow at Bella in question but doesn't comment, namely because she can't.

"This is someone I'm helping," Bella says, smiling falsely.

"New student?" Angela asks to which Bella shook her head.

"A friend of Charlie's. From work," she quickly fills in. She reaches around blindly and grabs Hope's hand in hers. "Now, if you'll excuse us we have to get her some new clothes." She doesn't wait to listen to their response, tugging Hope with her as Bella's converse slap on the floor, taking her away from them. Hope lags behind Bella, not quite understanding her mood. They get to the thrift shop and Bella realizes she's still holding Hope's wrist. She lets go. "Look through some stuff here. I know it's not designer, but we don't have much cash. Get like a couple outfits and if anything we can come back next week and get you more clothes."

Hope nods her head, mouths a 'thank you' and then walks off, browsing the racks. Bella does so too, but it's more out of boredom than actual interest in getting anything. Ten minutes go by and Hope returns with an armful of clothing. She shows this to Bella who jerks her head at the singular curtained changing room. "Try those on. I'll wait for you outside."

Hope goes and disappears behind the curtain, taking her time to get changed. Bella sits on the solitary cushion leaking foam from the side outside the changing room as she waits.

An outfit montage is what happens next, and Bella crosses her legs in front of her, hands in her jacket pockets as she watches Hope display the new combinations for Bella to decide which one was good enough to buy.

Hope looked amazing. No matter what outfit she put on, despite the fact they were at a thrift store, it all fit her like a model. Bella felt her stomach twist. Was it jealousy? She was going to decide it was.

Hope pulls the curtain back, waving her hand for Bella to come in. She must need some help with zipping up a dress. Bella goes in and the curtains fall on the outside world. In the changing room it's only the two of them. The two of them, and when Hope turns her back to Bella, Hope's scars.

There are horrible marks on Hope's shoulder blades. Marks that Bella had never seen before on anyone. They were two vertical marks parallel to each other, going down her back. They looked angry, just barely healed. What had done this? _Who_ , had done this?

Bella felt the inexorable need to touch them. As gently as she could, she ran a finger at the top of one of the marks, the one on Hope's left shoulder blade, wondering at how deep it went. Hope shuddered at the touch and Bella flinched.

"Oh, sorry, did that hurt?" Bella backed away, stopping in her motions. Hope turned around, shaking her head no. She grasped at Bella's hands, telling her it was okay. Reassuring her. She offered a slightly lopsided smile, a bit wistful, as if she knew she had those scars and was apologizing for them.

"How could anyone do something like that to you?" Bella asked and Hope didn't have an answer to that. Maybe she never would.

* * *

It's almost scary how easily they get used to having Hope around. It's like she was always here. It certainly helps that she's so helpful to have on their side. Each time Bella comes home from school, she finds that Hope has fixed yet another thing in their house. How she does so easily and swiftly Bella has no clue. It's almost like she has a healing touch. She fixes the washer not only so it works but also so that it is more energy efficient. She does this with everything: not only fixes it but also improves it.

The sink works, the warped wood is taken out and replaced, the holes in the roof are plugged, and soon the house is being refurbished. They have no idea how she does this, because Charlie's out at work and Bella's in school but each time they come back Hope has fixed it all up, and fixed them dinner.

"Not that I don't appreciate it," Charlie says when he looks over the new couch and armchair combination, "but how the hell are you getting all this?"

She takes out paper and a pen and writes in elegant looping script her answer. "I help out other people around town and they give me stuff for free that they no longer need or use."

Charlie nods his head approvingly. "Well, that's nice. I hope they don't give you any trouble."

She shakes her head like 'none sir' and they don't ask her anymore on how she gets this done. They just trust her.

Once the weather gets warmer at the end of the month Hope takes to fixing up the garden. Fascinated, Bella can't help but go outside and offer to join. Bella enjoys nature to a certain point- like when it's not trying to kill her- and she's curious to see if Hope's talents at fixing up apply even to the garden. So, donning some clothes she cares not for and some old ratty sneakers, Bella goes outside to where Hope is already weeding out the dismal vegetable patch.

"Need a hand?" Bella asks and Hope shrugs, before pointing at a gardening tool set that Bella didn't even know they had. She brings it over and Hope takes out the small shovel and starts digging up some of the weed's roots. Bella crotches next to her and takes the roots she's dug up and adds it to the pile of trash by the plants.

This continues for quite some time. It's oddly peaceful and Bella can't explain why. Maybe it's because Hope has such a calming presence. And she works with a small smile on her face that makes her lovely features look even lovelier. Bella has to remember herself and look away several times, least Hope catch her staring. Her throat goes dry and she knows it's not because of the work. It's not hot enough to work up a thirst, nor has Bella really done any of the hard work. Hope's the one digging through the dirt, her sleeves rolled up to reveal her muscles flexing under her golden skin. Bella has to excuse herself, telling Hope she's going to bring them something to drink.

She doesn't wait to get a nod from Hope, instead going inside and shedding her gardening gloves, washing her hands, and preparing two glasses of cool lemonade. Charlie's inside the house and he comes up to Bella, optimizing a commercial break. He's watching a game as usual. "How's the gardening going?"

"Good," Bella says, looking out the window to see the top of Hope's blonde head.

"She's really good with her hands, ain't she," Charlie continues onwards. "Makes me wonder what kind of work she did. Must have been blue collar."

"Have you found anything yet on her?"

Charlie shook his head no. "She's the biggest clue we got to this, and she doesn't remember anything." He looked disappointed but also sympathetic to her plight.

"What if we got her to try hypnosis? Get the memories out that way?" Bella suggests, picking the glasses up. The ice clinks with the motion.

"We could try," Charlie rubs his chin. "But she would have to agree to it, and we would have to find one. And then pay for it. I don't think they're cheap."

Bella thinned her lips. She waffled a bit between telling this to her father or not, but she figured he should know. "When I went shopping with her last Tuesday for clothes, I noticed she had scars. Two long scars down her shoulder blades."

Charlie didn't react to this the way Bella thought he would. "I already know, Bella. The doctors in the hospital noticed them too. They stitched them up for her."

"Do we know what caused them?" she asked.

"Some weapon," he said, "but I don't know what kind or why the wounds were given there."

"It looked like...it looked like something had been carved out," Bella said, her voice dropping into a whisper because she didn't want Charlie to hear it wavering. The thought of something like that happening was horrifying.

His hand dropped onto her shoulder, squeezing. "The important part is, she's alive and well. The rest will get figured out. And we won't let harm come to her. I'll protect her, so will the rest of the department if need be."

Bella nodded her head before leaving the house, snatching up her gloves on the way by. Charlie goes back to his game.

Hope was wiping some sweat off of her forehead. She had pulled her hair back into a ponytail and this left her swan-like neck exposed. Bella averted her eyes once more, not sure why she was looking so much today. Was it because Hope was beautiful? There was no denying she was. Her beauty seemed almost ethereal. She smiled and looked up gratefully when Bella gave her the glass of lemonade. She gulped it down heartily and Bella pointedly looked at the flower beds behind her as she sipped on hers.

Already, Hope had done some good work. The vegetable patch was cleared and looking healthy, and the flower bed had been reformed and refilled with nice rocks to outline the edge of it, and fresh dirt to make the flowers grow.

They had been out here for three hours and were almost done.

Hope gave Bella back the finished glass before kneeling down in front of the flowers once more. Bella wet her lips, wanting to ask some questions. "Hope, how do you know how to do all this?" Perhaps that could jog her memory a bit.

Hope didn't react at first, so Bella wasn't sure if the blonde heard her but then Hope's hands stilled on the plants and she looked up at Bella with a furrow between her brows. She opened and closed her mouth before quirking up her lip corner in an apologetic look. She gave a one shoulder shrug and turned back to her work.

Bella had known it wouldn't have been this simple but she had hoped. She just wanted to help Hope. To get her back to her family. "Do you know if you have family, Hope?"

Again Hope gave that one shoulder shrug, working more slowly on the flowers in front of her. Bella wondered if she had hurt her feelings. "Sorry, I shouldn't ask," Bella shook her head and turned to go back home when she feels a gentle hand turning her, before gloved hands grip her elbows and keep Bella still. Hope's holding her, looking down at Bella with a mixed expression that Bella cannot make out. She opens her mouth, closes it and swallows down her frustrated words.

She looks like she needs a hug, but Bella's hands are occupied by the glasses and Hope's holding her arms in place. This close up Bella can feel the heat radiating from Hope's body and her own heats up at the close proximity.

"Are you okay?" Bella asks and Hope's lips twist up before she's diving into Bella for a hug. Bella lets out a startled gasp, not expecting this, or the contours of Hope's body pressed against her own. But Hope hugs her tightly and Bella holds her as best she can with those glasses making the hug a bit more awkward.

They stay there for a long time and Bella even ends up closing her eyes. She can feel the tension leaving her body, can feel the tension leaving Hope's, as their bodies relax into the hug, into one another. The birds are chirping in the air and a small breeze ruffles past them. When they finally part Bella feels new. As odd as that sounds, the hug rejuvenated her. And Hope looks better for it too. Now, she has a contemplative look on her face, almost like she's realized something but not quite what.

"Everything okay out here?" Charlie's voice startles Bella and drops the glasses in her hand, while Hope barely notices him at all.

"Ah shit," Bella swears under her breath, pulling away from Hope and going to get a broom. Charlie's got his hands on his hips, standing on the back step, watching them. There's a furrow between his brows as if he doesn't understand why they'd been hugging. But he doesn't bother to ask about it, not now. And for that Bella is grateful because she doesn't think she could have formed coherent sentences about it.


	5. Chapter 5

Within days the plants Hope has planted are blooming, different gorgeous shades of life. And the vegetables are producing like crazy. Already there's a cucumber the size of Bella's forearm, ready to be harvested. "What did you give these plants? steroids?" Bella jokes, blowing on the steam wafting up from her tea. Soon it's going to get too hot to drink any, but Bella finds she is hard pressed to give up the warmth of the drink, or the comfort it gives her.

Hope tips her head like she doesn't know what steroids are and Bella shakes her head, moving away from the window where she had been looking out to see the plants.

It's hard to believe how quickly time has gone by.

It's been a month now and there still has been no break through in Hope's case. The Swans have gotten used to her being around. To her cooking, to her cleaning up the place, and to her sometimes waking them up in the middle of the night with her nightmares that leave her shaking and trembling like a newborn colt learning to walk.

One time it's so bad that Bella insists she come and sleep in her bed upstairs. Hope doesn't want to intrude at first but she relents when Bella gives no quarter. Because she hates seeing Hope like this. She wants to be able to help her much the same way Hope has helped them by feeding them and renovating their house. It's practically all fixed up internally and looks brand new. The least Bella can do is make sure that Hope doesn't have to suffer through her nightmares alone.

Hope's never been up in Bella's bed before and Bella has never had anyone else sleep here. But she slides in and pulls the covers up, beckoning a hesitant Hope to come in and join her. Soon Hope gathers herself and slides into the bed too. She keeps to her side of it, lying stiffly.

"No need to be scared," Bella tells her, pulling the covers up.

Bella's eyes are already slipping open so she doesn't see the wistful smile Hope gives her before she falls asleep. And as Bella sleeps, Hope turns onto her back, looking up at the ceiling and just thinking.

When Bella wakes up the following morning, it's to bird chirping out her window. The sun is streaming in and Bella yawns and tries to turn onto her right side so she can get away from it's light and sleep some more. But as she tries to move, she finds that someone is holding onto her. She looks over her shoulder finding Hope snuggled up to her, face buried in Bella's hair and arm around her waist, holding her like Bella's her own personal teddy bear.

Bella breathes out. She doesn't mind this. It feels nice, actually.

She just puts an arm over her head and blocks the sun out this way, because she can't bare to disturb Hope's slumber. When Bella wakes up again it's to an empty bed and the smell of eggs in the air. Bella stumbles down, still half asleep and finds Hope is making breakfast for them. Hope looks up when she sees Bella come in and she smiles gently, hair piled up in a bun on her head. The smile doesn't reach her eyes and Bella blames it on the spook of the nightmares, but it isn't until Bella has helped make breakfast and then calls Charlie down for some food, that Bella finds out what is bothering Hope.

On a ripped out piece of paper she's scribbled down some words. Her elegant script is rushed, a bit shaky. Charlie reads it over, his chewing on a tough piece of toast slowing down before he eventually swallows, looking a bit pained by the note. Bella wonders what's on it, but when she tries to catch Hope's direct eye contact, she finds the blonde is looking down, hands folded, thumbs fiddling with each other.

"This could be useful. But, what do you mean by fell? Did you fall off of a cliff?" Charlie says, putting the paper down at last and addressing Hope. As soon as she does, Bella snatches it up and starts to read it. Charlie shoots a sharp glare at the way she snatched it up, but continues with speaking to Hope. Bella drowns out his words, as she absorbs what's on the paper.

"I remembered," it read. "I was in a fight. With someone named Edward. He had red hair and these cruel eyes. He was very upset at me, and I was upset at him. I couldn't make out why this was, the words in my dreams were silent. But I saw how upset he was. He kept pushing at me and pushing until I fell. I fell down hard, into a forest."

Bella finishes scanning the words, confused by this.

"Are you sure it wasn't just a figment of your imagination?" Charlie asked, sitting back in his seat. Bella was tuning back into his conversation. Hope shook her head no.

"Well, then we look for this Edward guy. I'll set up his profile at work. If he ever comes near you, we should know." He put his hand on top of hers, running his thumb on the knuckles. "Don't worry, I won't let any harm come to you."

Hope just thins her lips to this.

These memories leave her haunted, a dark look in her eyes. For the rest of the day she is down, and even the repairs she tries to make on the creaky screen door don't go well. Bella comes downstairs from doing homework to find Hope silently cursing in frustration at the door.

"Hey, it's okay. You don't have to do that," Bella tells her, placing a hand over Hope's which is on the doorframe, other hand holding a screwdriver. Hope freezes at her touch, body relaxing and pulling away from the door. She turns in to Bella, resting on the screen with her shoulders, head tipped back. Her eyes are sad. Painfully so, and it rips a hole inside Bella. "You don't have to pretend things are fine. You're allowed to be scared of Edward. You're allowed to be sad, to take a break."

Hope shakes her head on the scared comment. Seems she's not scared of him, but either way he hurt her. She gestures to her shoulders and makes a slashing noise. It takes a while for Bella to realize this, but when she does she becomes furious. Her hands ball up. "He did that to you?"

Hope purses her lips, looks pensive, like she's the one in trouble and not Edward.

"That asshole! How could he do such a thing to you! He's sick. Sick in the head!" Bella cries out when Hope grabs her, leaning up from the door and holding Bella by the upper arms. Her thumbs stroke the shirt material there, attempting to soothe. "It's okay," Hope mouths.

"It's not. How can you think that?" Bella hisses out.

"I made a profile on him given what you've given me, Hope," Charlie's voice comes in from behind them. He's looking through a manila folder, his reading glasses on. He takes them off when he goes to look at them. He spots them in their awkward embrace. "Everything okay?" he questions, and there is an edge to his voice.

Bella steps back, opens her mouth to tell Charlie about what Hope told her, when she spokes Hope's face from the corner of her eye. She shakes it, ever slightly no. In warning. In a plea. "Hope's having bad luck with the door today."

"Is that so," he murmurs, amused. "I never thought the day would come you couldn't fix something!"

Hope offers up a clumsy smile, hands folding behind her back as if she was ashamed for having been caught touching Bella in front of her father, even if the gesture had been small and innocent. Charlie goes to her with the folder, their heads bending together to read it, and Bella excuses herself back upstairs to finish her weekend homework.

Her hands slightly shake and she has to erase the stray lines she makes.

She can't get it out of her head how someone could do such a thing to Hope. She hopes her father catches this Edward guy and arrests him.

* * *

"So, how's Hope?" Mike asks as they walk to class together. The hall is crowed with rambunctious teens. Bella almost doesn't hear him.

"You know her?" Bella squints at him. She'd heard the gossip Jessica had wasted no second to spread after the two of them met at the mall. Bella had to field questions off left and right about Hope. It was annoying and Hope certainly did not need the extra attention of a small town hungry for gossip.

"Yea, she comes by to my store and buys stuff. Offers to help out whenever we have some issues." He shrugs when Bella gives him an odd look. Technically Bella knows this, because Hope had admitted it was how she had gotten the Swan residency fixed. But Bella just felt...jealous? About Hope spending time with others?

She wasn't sure either but it felt weird. She decided she didn't like this feeling. So she resolved to not feel it.

"What's the deal with her?" he asked when Bella didn't speak up.

"It's not my place to say. She's in a tough spot and she's just staying with us. She fixes up our house instead of paying rent."

"She fixed the place up?" Mike looks astonished. "She doesn't look the type to do heavy work. She looks more like an actress. Or a model."

"My thoughts precisely. But no, she's pretty handy. The place is as good as new."

"So no more threat of your house blowing away, huh," he smiles. "Does this mean I can come over without worrying for my safety? Or should I wear a hard hat just in case?"

She rolls her eyes. "You're just saying that because you want to come over and meet her."

He gives a sheepish grin. "Maybe."

She rolls her eyes again. "Sure, but don't expect to talk to her. She lost her voice."

His smile drops, thinks making sense to him now. "Oh. Shit."

"Yea," Bella sighs out.

* * *

The utensils clink on dinner plates as the Swan's enjoy their wonderful meal. Bella would never get tired of Hope's cooking. Every dish she makes tastes amazing. Charlie feels the same way, always complimenting Hope on her cooking. How will they ever go back to eating what Bella's made for dinner now?

Bella had tried following Hope's recipes and while the food does come out better, it's never on the same level as Hope's. It's almost like magic.

"I'd figure I'd enroll her into school or some online courses. She looks to be fairly youngish and maybe going to school might jog her memory. Besides, it could do her good to be actually being among her peers," Charlie said, turning to Hope. "What do you think?" They'd been having this conversation for a while now, and Bella doesn't like the topic. She can tell Hope didn't feel comfortable with it either.

Hope looked uncertain. She shrugged.

"I don't know dad, it might be too soon," Bella spoke up, pushing around the peas on her plate.

"It was just a thought. I know the school year is ending soon anyhow, but I thought it wouldn't be fair for her to not get an education just because this happened to her. She should have as stable of a life as possible."

Hope takes her pad and pen which she carries with her, and writes down one word in blue ink. JOB. Seemed Hope wanted money.

"You want a job?" Charlie raises a brow. "That might be hard to do, given you have no past."

"She can get a part time job. Those don't really look into background info as much." Bella offers up this advice.

"I'll look into what I can find for you," Charlie said. "I don't think they'll be many options in Forks however."

"I'll help you look too," Bella offers. "How about after dinner we hop on the computer and look some things up?"

Hope nods her head in agreement and excitement.

Once the plates are cleaned up, Hope follows Bella up to her room and they hop on the web, googling results. "What kinda job you want?" Bella asks once the computer is booted up. She fiddles with the mouse while Hope sits on the edge of the bed, Bella having taken the desk seat. Hope shrugs.

"Alright, let's just look at some availability," Bella suggests and starts typing in search words, key phrases, and clicking on this and that. Thirty minutes later and they haven't found anything good. Bella leans back into her seat with an annoyed huff. "Hm, nothing," she announces. "Maybe we should go walking around the streets, check in person?"

Hope makes a motion like she thinks that's a good idea. This is also Bella's chance to ask Hope about other things. "Do you...would you mind going to school?"

Hope gives Bella a blank look.

Bella fumbles with her words. "I mean, I don't know how old you are, so maybe you were in high school or college. You don't have to go to school if you don't want, but would you want to?"

Hope shrugs. She takes out a pad and pen and writes. Bella waits patiently. Hope hands the paper over to Bella when she's done. "I don't think it would be a good idea for me to go to school or online classes. I would cost you money. I'd rather work so I can pay off my bills."

"Oh," Bella breathes out. Right, this would make sense. She continues reading. "But Charlie is so taken with me going to school that I don't know how to tell him no."

"I can talk with him," Bella offers and Hope smiles at that. Bella tries to not let the smile affect her. It's been getting a bit ridiculous how she is so easily flustered by Hope.

"Thank you," Hope mouths.

* * *

That night, when Hope has a nightmare, she makes her way up to Bella's room before Bella can even go down to make sure she's fine. Bella's halfway in the bed, Hope already in the room. She stands in the doorway, fiddling with her hands. Bella knows what she needs, and it's almost a relief to offer it. She pulls the covers back, slides her freed leg back into bed. "Come on in," she says an Hope does.

This time she doesn't lay stiffly on her side of the bed but scoots in to Bella, shivering from the remains of the nightmares. She clings to the front of Bella's shirt, burying her face into Bella's collarbone, legs intertwining with Bella's own. Bella breathes in Hope's scent. It's so wonderful, so her. She wraps her arms around the blonde's form, feeling her calm down already.

Within heartbeats, the both of them have fallen asleep. And when they wake up the next morning it's tangled together even more than they had last night. And Bella's heart throbs and throbs, as she looks at Hope's achingly beautiful face and longs to reach out and trace it with her finger tips. Longs to taste those lips against her own.

But her heart breaks. She's falling in love with a woman who she knows nothing about and who will probably have to leave soon. And it's best to keep her love to herself, sparing the both of them unnecessary pain.


	6. Chapter 6

"You got a job?" Bella's jaw is slack when Hope comes in the next day with news of this. Hope looks proud, and Bella has no idea how Hope was even able to get through an interview without talking but she's happy for her.

"Where?"

"Library," Hope mouths and Bella can't help but laugh. "Of course a library would hire you. They love keeping the place quiet. You're perfect for it."

Hope's cheeks take on a rosy hue and she rubs the back of her neck sheepishly at Bella's compliment. Bella flushes when she realizes what she's said, but it's true. She clears her throat, and turns away.

Bella loves and hates that summer is coming. She loves it, because the weather will actually be nice and school is gonna be out. But she hates it, because this means Hope's wearing less and less clothes. Short shorts, and tank tops that leave her radiant skin exposed. Bella promised herself she would hide away her budding feelings. That she wouldn't let them thrive. That she wouldn't burden Hope with them. But Hope makes it hard to do that when she's prancing around half naked. And it's not like Bella can tell her how to dress. It's her body.

All she can do is hope her feelings go away. She doesn't want to bother Hope with them. Nor does she herself want these feelings around. They're confusing, to say the least. She never thought she was into women. Maybe she's not, and it's just Hope that she likes. But she doesn't know. All she knows is Hope is special from the others. Hope makes Bella feel in ways she never thought possible. Bella feels like she's swallowed a firework when she's around her. And that she's covered in a warm blanket. Bella simultaneously is alive and safe when she's around Hope.

Yes, Bella knows Hope is special. It isn't until Bella's in the kitchen one day and cuts herself, that Bella begins to suspect that Hope might be special in an entirely different way. She hisses in pain and goes to find a towel to cover the wound when Hope is there, having heard Bella's hiss from next door where she had been cleaning the table. She grabs Bella's bleeding hand in her own, squeezing tight so the blood doesn't spurt as much. Bella can feel an intense heat coming from Hope's hands over her own and she stops in her panic, looking down at her hands. Hope too, must feel the odd sensation because she slowly lifts her hands up, revealing Bella's own.

Bella looks at her hand. The cut is healed. Gone, with no sign except for the blood that had been there before. Hope looks as shocked as Bella does but naturally she can't say anything about it. So Bella decides not to press. She instead, pretends to not notice. "Must not have been deep," she murmurs, though she knows it was.

Just what the hell is going on?

Hope bites her bottom lip, eyes looking more horrified than they should over something like this, and then she runs upstairs. Bella doesn't follow her, cursing when she smells the meat burning. She runs to the pan.

* * *

They don't talk about it, only because it makes no sense to do so. How would something like that even be explained? It can't be. It just can't.

So they try to forget about it. Bella goes to finish up her school year, and Hope goes to the library to do her job. It seems she's plenty popular there, because Bella can hear whispers of gossip from the student body about the hot new librarian and she grinds her teeth at such things. She shouldn't feel jealous but she does. Hope is her friend. They need to stop trying to talk to her or get close to her.

Mike sees the way Bella's sitting tensed up as she listens to Tyler and Eric talk about ways to get Hope's number and go on a date. They're betting to see who can ask her out first.

"Hey, relax," Mike puts a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to let out a tensed breath.

"I am relaxed," Bella says through gritted teeth, wishing class would start so she could not have to listen to them.

"No, you're not. And I understand that you're worried about Hope but she's a free woman. You can't stop people from hitting on her," he told her as gently as he could. Bella scoffed. "It's not that. It's just, she has a lot on her plate right now, and," Bella swallowed, playing with her pen cap, twirling it between her slender fingers. The cut where the knife had sliced down is gone. Almost as if by magic. She still can't stop thinking about that even if she tried.

It's so poignant. So important. She just doesn't know why yet.

"And she really doesn't need more trouble. She was...hurt by a man," Bella tells him in a lowered tone of voice so nobody can hear her. "If a lot of guys are coming up to her, then we don't know if he's one of them or not."

"Hm, I can see that not going well. But what are you going to do about it?" Mike stretches, puts his hands behind his head. "Get a police escort?"

Bella gives him a derisive look. "That would be ridiculous."

Bella and Mike end up going by the library later if only to check up on how Hope's doing. They walk over, mainly in silence and enjoying the pre-summer sun on their backs. When they get in they can see it's more crowded than usual. Bella can hazard a guess why. Hope's the newest attraction in town and everyone wants a piece of her.

Bela just wishes they could give Hope some space. She doesn't want her to be overwhelmed. Hope's got stacks of books in her hands, hair up in a bun as she is stuck in a circle of people trying to chat with her. All teenage boys. Without another thought, Bella pushes in thorough them, reaching out and snagging Hope by the wrist.

"Hey!" one exclaims.

"Rude, we're talking to her-"

"She's done with you all," Bella retorts at his stupid pimply face and pulls Hope away somewhere quieter. Hope looks relieved to be free of those teenage hormones. She sets the stack of books down to the nearby table and puts her hands on her hips, eye raking over Mike. She mouths a quick hello to him.

"So, er, how's the job?" Bella clears her throat, realizing she just up and pulled Hope away. Possibly distracted her from her work.

Hope gives an amused smile and looks over Bella's shoulder to where the boys still are, milling around, scuffing the floor with their sneakers as they wait and watch from there until Bella is done talking with Hope. "Popular, and busy," Mike comments.

Hope fumbles with her pocket and takes out a pen and paper and begins to write stuff down. "We really need to get you a cellphone," Bella comments because it always takes a while for the writing to be finished. Not that Bella minds terribly- she loves Hope's handwriting. It just must be terribly inconvenient for Hope time wise.

Hope holds up the paper. "Wait for me after my shift. Then we can walk home together." Bella read.

"We could do some work, I don't mind," Mike comments and they both go and get a table to do their homework assignments at. Hope picks up her stack of books and goes back to work. Bella really tries to focus on her work, she does, but her eyes follow Hope ever so often when she passes by their table. Bella tries to not let it bother her when some teenage boys still try to come up to Hope and talk to her, when she clearly can't talk! This is a library, they're supposed to be quiet!

Mike sees the way Bella's staring.

"What?" she nearly growls at him, turning her frustration on him.

"Nothing?" he shakes his head and goes back to his work.

An hour later finds Hope finally done with work and heading over to their table. Bella has only been marginally successful with finishing her work while Mike has finished all of his up. They leave the library, Bella and Mike chatting on the way.

"Anyone wanna get ice cream?" he asks and they all agree to it. There's a good ice cream place along the road. They stop by and get some ice cream.

They're walking home, Bella lagging behind them as she texts with her mother, head down to her phone. Mike and Hope are ahead of her, already having crossed the street. Bella just finishes sending the text and pockets her phone when she hears the rumbling of a truck, veering down the path at her at well past the speed limit of 20.

"Bella!" a shrill cry rang out through the air. Bella looked, seeing the truck barreling down the road. She froze. Like a deer in headlights. She was powerless to do anything except watch it get closer, smelling of diesel and death. "Bella!" another cry rang out over Mike's scream of despair and Bella lifted her hands as if that could protect her and then Bella was on the ground, tasting asphalt. The truck roared past her spraying grit and there was a warm body over her. Holding her, protecting her.

For a second Bella's not sure what is going on. She's shaking, panting, vision blurry from unshed tears.

Then there's footsteps, Mike's worried voice. "Oh my god, Bella, you're okay." He's by her side, face relieved. "I thought..." he swallowed, didn't finish. Bella tries to get up and the weight on her disappears before it offers her a hand to stand up. Bella takes it. It's Hope's hand.

Hope had saved her.

She looks untouched but severely worried, like she'll be sick with it.

"You saved me," Bella breathes out, staring at her in a new light.

"Let's get onto the sidewalk, please?" Mike says, ushering them fully onto the sidewalk before another vehicle can come down the one way street. Bella stumbles to the sidewalk, still in total shock. There she turns to stare at Hope one more. "I had to save you. You were in danger," Hope replies and Bella's jaw drops open.

"That was you calling my name. You can talk now."

Hope's voice is rusty, sounds a bit painful. But she's speaking. She's gained her voice back!

Hope shrugs. "I guess whatever happened to make me stop talking, was broken with the...worry I felt for you when I tried to warn you about the truck."

Bella holds her hands in her own. "I...thank you." Tears brim in her eyes and Hope smiles, pulling her into her chest. Mike stands there a tad awkwardly as Bella sobs into Hope's chest. She was frightened. She had almost lost everything. Hope had saved her somehow.

"It's fine. You're fine now." Hope assures her and Bella burrows in deeper, tears staining Hope's t-shirt. Bella clings and lets the sobs come freely. She finally relents when it's been a bit of time. She pulls free, sniffles and allows Hope to gently wipe away at the remaining tears streaming from her eyes. "I wouldn't ever let anything bad happen to you."

"Yea, you should have seen Hope," Mike speaks up, trying to inject humor into the situation. "She moved like a freaking action star! She ran so fast to get to you. I still don't know how she got to you in time."

"I must have ran track," Hope replies off handily and with a hint of irritation. Like she wants this topic dropped. Instead she focuses the attention on Bella again. "Are you fine?"

"Yea, I am now," Bella sniffs, feeling better about all this.

Bella can barely feel her knees stinging from where she's fallen but Hope notices them. "We have to clean those when we get home."

* * *

Mike walks with them all the way to Bella's house to make sure she's alright. "Don't worry, I'll take care of her," Hope states, arm slung around Bella's shoulder in a comforting manner. Bella is pressed tight against Hope, almost with all her weight. It should be enough to push Hope over, but it doesn't. She's deceptively strong. And fast.

Walking home is a blur, mainly because of Bella's teary eyes and mainly because she's still in shock. Charlie's not home yet, luckily, so she won't have to answer any questions about what happened. Mike leaves them on the front step. He wants to come in, but Hope dismisses him.

"I'll take care of her. She'll be fine, and I'll make sure she texts you afterwards so you know she's fine," Hope says and then tugs the door shut on poor Mike.

Bella is set down on a chair and Hope quickly gets the needed medical supplies from the kitchen drawer. She rolls up Bella's jean legs and kneels in front of her. Antiseptic in hand she carefully cleans and wraps Bella's knees with such delicate touches that Bella can't help but shiver. She blames the shivers on the after shock of what happened.

Bella is tempted to ask Hope why she doesn't just use her healing powers on it, but she knows not to press her luck. Instead she just relaxes into the care Hope is affording her and tries to even out her breaths. When Hope is done, she gets up, eyes carefully assessing Bella. "Why don't you go upstairs and get changed into something comfortable. I'll meet you there in a second."

Bella is too out of it to question much and she goes to her room, changing out of her slightly dirtied clothes and putting on comfy pjs. She's still shaken up, more than she'd like to admit, though a huge part of her is in denial it even happened.

Hope finds her way up to Bella's room in five minutes. She too has changed out of her outdoor clothing which must have been dirty from diving in to save Bella. "Lie on the bed."

Bella does so with a raised eyebrow. Her heart is racing now. This situation seems suggestive. Bella obediently lies down, head on her pillows before Hope lies down next to her, scooping her up into her arms and just holding her.

"You let me stay here when I have my nightmares. I wanted to return the favor to you," she said, voice quiet now. It still sounds a bit rusty and unused, but it doesn't grate on Bella's ears. She snuggles deeper into Hope's hold and lets her eyes drift shut. She can feel her body calming down now, evening out. Eventually, before she knows it, she falls asleep in Hope's hold.

When she wakes it is an hour later, to the smell of dinner being made. She trudges downstairs and finds Charlie setting up the table.

"Bells, there you are. I didn't want to disturb your sleep kiddo. Feeling unwell?" he indicated to her pjs with the fork in his hand.

She looked down then back up at him, as if reaffirming that she had indeed slept in them, which she knew she had. She was just discombobulated still after the ordeal. She hoped she'd get better soon. Hope holding her had helped a lot but now not in her arms, Bella felt a bit nervous and shaky. "Yea, um, a bit. But the nap helped me."

"Good, good," Charlie mumbles absent mindedly under his breath. Hope comes in with the dinner and they have a quiet meal, each in their own heads. They finish shortly, the meal glorious as always.

"Thank you for dinner, Hope."

"You're very welcome," she replies with. He's just lifting up his glass to his mouth when the comment registers with him. His eyes bulge out comically. "Hope, did you just-"

"Dad, Hope can talk now," Bella says.

"Well, this is wonderful!" he exclaims. "How did it happen?"

Bella and Hope exchange a look- Bella doesn't want her dad to know. So Hope respects that. She gives Charlie a nonchalant shrug. "Just did. I woke up today and found I could talk."

"Well, I'll be damned," Charlie laughed heartily. "It's about time. Nice to finally talk to you, Hope."


End file.
